In some manufacturing processes handling of products is necessary between product formation and packaging of the product. Excessive handling of products can damage and/or adversely affect the appearance of the products, especially if the product is a malleable material. When handling is required between product formation and packaging, it may be advantageous to automate an assembly line process to minimize and/or optimize handling of the product.
Furthermore, in some assembly and packaging processes manufactured products are output in a manner that is not optimum for final packaging of the product. A particular reason for optimizing the output may be to eliminate unnecessary packaging material that would otherwise be needed to facilitate packaging the product. Automating the assembly line process may aid in reducing costs and the amount of packaging materials needed to package the product. However, as discussed above, in some situations care must be taken to avoid excessive handling that may damage the product.
In addition to avoiding excessive handling, automating the assembly line process may reduce labour and aid in making the product cost competitive.